Current Funding

I have had a wonderful journey throughout my university studies and have been very grateful for everyone who has supported me.   Originally, I have managed to achieve to win the 2020 Academic Excellence Award and 2021 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Federation University student of the year.   I feel very privileged and proud to have won these awards and hope they will inspire others that anything is possible if you at least start the journey.   Although saying that I have struggled a little this year to achieve the marks I wanted.   Due to the number of placements, I had to work7 days a week to safve money to attend the residentials and placements which came to 12 weeks this yar.

When I completed high school in a rural town on the far south coast of NSW, University of Wollongong Bega Campus gave me the opportunity to study my top preference of Nursing with passion while still being at home.   This was important for me as I had grown up rurally and wanted to pursue my career without having to move my whole life to the big city.

Six weeks into my Bachelor of Nursing, CVOID-19 stopped everything worldwide, including university.   Everything shifted from classroom involvement to online, self-paced and zoom learning.

My name is Jessica Richards, and I am a mum of two children and a wife to a supportive husband.  I am proud to say that two weeks ago I finally completed my Bachelor of Nursing at Wollongong University, Bega Campus.  My dream to become a nurse began at 18 years old, when I initially applied for a nursing degree and was accepted.   I was so excited when starting my course, however in the first few weeks of the course I began to doubt my abilities.   I then transferred to teaching.   Over the following years I had a successful teaching career as well as gaining Masters in Special Education and Teacher Librarianship.  Despite thoroughly enjoying teaching, I never stopped wondering what it would be like to be a nurse.   However, starting over in a new career seemed terrifying.   With the support of my husband, I decided to take the leap and chase my dream of becoming a nurse, beginning my degree in 2020.

In rural New South Wales [NSW], people face more barriers accessing healthcare than those who reside in metropolitan areas. Oftentimes, there are larger geographical distances that people must travel for specialised healthcare, and there are fewer allied health professionals and doctors. Adding to the complexity, people who live in rural areas also experience higher rates of chronic disease, co-morbidities, and premature death that is largely preventable.

Furthermore, specific to my hometown in the Bega Valley, and other nearby rural towns, communities have been impacted by cumulative natural disasters including floods, devastating bushfires, drought, the Covid19 pandemic and even mice plagues.

Having lived my whole life in the East Gippsland area, I have always been heavily involved in my local community.   So, beginning my nursing career at Central Gippsland Health Service (Sale) hospital was a simple choice.   Remaining local provides me with the opportunity to give back to that community and the people that have supported me.   Growing up on a local farming property, I feel that I have a special understanding of the issues facing rural communities in accessing health care.   This will allow me to utilise my skills to provide appropriate nursing care beneficial to the health of this population.

Nursing has been a passion of mine for quite some time, having had 5 children I was unable to achieve my dream while they were young.  Moving from the Mornington Peninsula in my 20’s with 5 kids in tow I moved to Far East Gippsland on the Wallagaraugh River situated 45 minutes form the coastal town of Mallacoota.   It was here I come to learn the paramountcy of rural nursing, which led me to enrol myself in a paediatric first aid course, as I waw aware emergency help was at least an hour away.  Despite the fact I was still unable to fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse as I lived too remote on dial up internet with no mains power running a beef farm.   This made me become more aware of the importance of nurses in the bush and their role in rural communities.

I am so excited and thrilled to be commencing my nursing career as a rural graduate nurse at Central Gippsland Health. Growing up and currently still living in a rural town called Maffra, has made me want to give back to my community and build strong relationships with my colleagues. Being a rural nurse will allow me to give quality patient-centred care to those patients, as I will have more time to be empathetic and create a supportive environment for my patients. Being a rural nurse will allow me to broaden my skills and build on my responsibility and appreciation for rural hospitals. Working as a rural nurse will allow me to overcome many challenging circumstances using my critical thinking skills, teamwork and effective communication.

On finding out I was a successful applicant at Central Gippsland Health Sale I was over the moon. During my three years of study completing my Bachelor of Nursing Degree I completed multiple placements at CGHS and enjoyed every single minute I had there. Not only were the learning opportunities abundant but also the workplace culture and friendliness of the staff was very appealing and encouraged me to apply for my Graduate year at CGHS.

I left school early with no real career goal in mind. I have always wanted to challenge myself by working hard and becoming as independent as possible. I started by leaving school at 15, moving in with my current partner, and getting a full-time retail job, all within one month. After working in retail for 3 years, I moved to the city and worked 9 different jobs within a space of one year. I gained a lot of life experience in that short time. Living in the city made me appreciate the country, so I moved back home to Lakes Entrance, where I was offered to do my aged care training. It turned out I enjoyed aged care and worked as a personal carer for 4 years. I then needed a challenge, so I completed my diploma in nursing; since that time, I have worked as an enrolled nurse in aged care and decided to push myself further. I decided to enrol in university as a mature-aged student and had 2 beautiful babies.

Throughout each of my placements within rural hospitals, I have seen and been a part of servicing a wide range of people and health issues. I have noticed that living in a rural area, there are limitations in specialist health are services available. The nursing staff in rural hospitals help bridge this gap and provide a high standard of care to each patient. Currently working in the Emergency department at Bairnsdale Regional Health Services, I have first-hand witnessed the teamwork required between the doctors, nurses, orderlies, paramedics and how they communicate with Melbourne specialists when treating patients to gain positive patient outcomes.